Chairs come in all shapes, sizes, and functional abilities in the industry. For example, chairs are available for general office use: including basic or advanced ergonomic features; applications such as health care, commercial, or special needs applications; and accommodation of different physiques and statures. Buzz Seating conceived and designed the Shield Chair to accommodate maintenance, utility, security, law enforcement or anyone wearing a utility or duty belt that can obstruct the ability to get in or out of a restrictive chair, resulting in damage to the chair and/or the belt contents, or possible injury to the individual.
However, existing chairs fail to adequately accommodate individuals who wear tools or weaponry. Individuals can become encumbered or entangled, restricting motion and access, because of duty belts and associated tools or equipment, such as flashlights, communication devices, manual tools, weaponry and utilitarian accessories. As a result, an individual is forced to remove the contents of the belt or the belt itself before sitting in existing chairs. In some cases, this may even cause a security risk because weaponry has to be removed from a law enforcement officer, military member, or security staff before the user is able to sit in an existing chair. For instance, depending on the circumstances, an officer attempting to sit in an existing chair with attached weaponry could cause an accidental discharge of a weapon or inadvertently cause a safety mechanism to be turned off should the officer forcibly attempt to sit in the chair.
In the case of tools, the tools can be misplaced, lost, or stolen when removed from the individual.
Additionally, when an individual attempts to sit in existing chairs with attached weaponry or tools, the chair can be severely damaged (ripped) or broken. Weaponry and tools tend to be very heavy with sharp/jagged edges, such that functional mechanisms of the chair can break and comfort mechanism of the chair (e.g., upholstery, etc.) can rip or tear. A sturdy chair could also cause the weaponry or tools to be damaged when the individual forcibly attempts to sit in that chair.
Still further and with existing chairs, individuals attempting to sit with attached tool or duty belt may get stuck in the chair when trying to stand up from the chair if they were actually successful in sitting in the chair in the first place.
Thus, there is a need for an approved chair that provides adequate support for individuals wearing attached weaponry and/or tools, promoting safety through ease of movement while allowing access to the duty belt, easing restrictions due to hardware.